[TAI travel poster]

A whimsical travel poster for "Transport Aeriens Intercontinentaux" (TAI), published in Paris in 1960, by Luc-Marie Bayle (1914-2000). The poster depicts a twin hemisphere map "done in the style of the most authentic ancient maps" that shows the intercontinental routes operated by the airline.
The hemispheres are surrounded by fun images of various explorers in divers modes of transport a hot air balloon, early and later forms of aero planes, rowing boats, sailing ships, galleons, whales and fish. There is a large, decorative compass rose at the base of the two hemispheres, offset by the TAI company logo between the twin hemispheres at the top.
It is unlikely that the print run for this poster exceeded 500 copies.

Luc Marie Bayle (1914 - 2000) was a French Naval Officer, painter and artist.
Bayle began his military career in 1932 when he entered the École Navale. He sailed on various ships and conducted campaigns to China and Africa. After attending further marine school training in Lorient, Bayle completed two missions, one in 1948, the other in 1949, to Adélie Land on the Commandant Charcot, for which he became the on-board photographer, historian, and official painter. He commanded the French Navy in Polynesia from 1956 to 1958. In 1975 he was elected to the Académie de Marine.

In 1954, Bayle created a large model aircraft carrier on the Seine in order to demonstrate the complexity of the equipment and electronics involved. He was the director of the Musée national de la Marine, in Paris, from 1972 to 1980, and created the concept of a "port-museum", especially in Port-Louis, near Lorient. He was particularly interested in historic ships such as the Duchesse Élisabeth, a three-masted war-damaged ship which was brought back to Brest in 1946 and renamed the Duchesse Anne.
After serving in the Navy the ship sank into neglect. After an initial restoration project funded by the Port-Louis museum, Bayle launched a new call for the rescue of the Duchesse Anne in February 1979, deeming her condition to be critical. It was ultimately Dunkirk that restored the ship in 1980/81, where it remains on display. Bayle founded the French maritime heritage preservation association "AMERAMI" in 1975.

Bayle drew and painted, mostly in watercolors, beginning with his first expedition to China. Other locations included in this collection are Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora and Mangareva, as well as the less frequented Île Saint-Paul, Macquarie Island, Kerguelen Islands, and the Balleny Islands. His works are complemented by rag sewn tapestries, posters, and advertisements. He also illustrated many books.

Bayle was appointed 'Peintre de la Marine' in 1944. After the war ended he received an order for a tapestry for the officers of the Rue Royale. Due to his lack of funds, the Naval police provided him with a bundle of material and a team of seamstresses to perform the work.
In the 1948 mission to Adélie Land, Commander Max Jacques Henri Douguet accepted Bayle on board, requiring that he learn how to use a movie camera. During the three months of travel Bayle not only learned how to film, he also composed a tapestry commemorating the arrival of Jules Dumont d'Urville to the territory in 1840. In addition to writing a diary covering the first two Adélie Land expeditions, Bayle wrote Le Voyage de la Nouvelle Incomprise recounting the same events. (raremaps.com)

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